Midria

Midria (colloquially called crystal trees) is a species of tree native to the crystal forest biomes of Mystral.

Description

Midria tree saplings appear on the outside much like any other young tree, but begin to differ more as they grow.

These trees absorb large amounts of magic throughout their lives and begin to show more similarity to magic crystals in their cellular structure the older they are. Organizing their cell structure to resemble that of crystalized molecules causes old Midria wood to be very hard but also somewhat more brittle than average wood.

Midria that have an uninterrupted source of magic can grow indefinitely. Some specimens are known to be over a millennia old. An average adult Midria tree is about 10 to 20 meters tall, but some of the ancient trees can grow over four times that height.

Midria grow long branches that prefer to be shaped like smooth arcs, and form a canopy that's about 50% wider than the height of the tree. The bark of Midria is lighter and paler in color, and can gain a crystalline sheen as the tree gets older. Eventually, old Midria trees will begin to have actual crystals growing in patches out of the trunk and along the stem. Midria bear leaves that look to be a middle green color and a single spade shape when they are young, but the pinkish energy of the magic will creep into the leaves as they age and eventually turn old leaves into crystals that will dangle from the branches. In late summer to fall these crystal leaves will collide with each other as the wind moves them, making them chime in an almost hypnotic way, giving Midria another nickname of "singing trees."

These trees will bear fruit in late summer that are shaped somewhat like apples, but are made entirely of crystal save for the seeds inside. The fruit is only edible by creatures that can eat crystal, such as the Korumi. The fruit will therefore usually rest in the soil until next spring when it will be split open by the sprouting young tree.

Natural Midria almost always have pink non-aligned energies that show in the color of their aging leaves, fruits, and crystal patches, but can be forced to grow with a different energy and color if the seeds are removed from their fruits and encased in another kind of crystal. A Midria with its energy changed like this will grow to have leaves, fruits, and patches colored like their new energy type. This property is used by some to create a renewable source of a specific kind of crystal, as the fruits and patches can be harvested and used just like normal magic crystals of that type. However, future generations after an energy-hybridized Midria will tend to correct their energies back toward their natural non-aligned pink gradually and can produce unusable, contaminated crystal fruits. Not all crystal energies are compatible with Midria, however. Some energies mixed with Midria can produce something disastrous, like a fire-infused tree that will occasionally burn itself and everything around it.

Habitat

Midria need a temperate environment with some sunlight to thrive, and must grow on soil that is heavily infused with magic. Because of that, Midria trees make up the majority of the trees in crystal forests. There are several regions on the surface of Korum that receive an excess of the planet's magic energy, and these regions are very likely to form into crystal forests. The magic can move over the centuries, causing some regions to lose their ability to sustain crystal forests and causing all of the Midria to die out there.

Midria can sometimes grow outside of these magic energy centers if there is some other phenomenon causing energy to be abundant to the plant. Domesticated Midria can be kept if they are "fed" regularly by grinding crystals and mixing them into the soil, or by an adept expending their magic energy into the tree.